


With the Changing of the Tides

by Mauve_Avenger



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Anti-Kataang, F/M, Zutara, fairytale
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-25
Updated: 2020-10-11
Packaged: 2021-03-04 02:33:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,436
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24906121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mauve_Avenger/pseuds/Mauve_Avenger
Summary: Once upon a time, a handsome prince met a beautiful healer. The healer had a secret...
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 39
Kudos: 232





	1. Part 1: The Healer of Ember Island

**_Part 1: The Healer of Ember Island_ **

Crown Prince Zuko first heard about the mysterious healer woman on Ember Island when he went to visit his family’s beach home. His uncle, Fire Lord Iroh, had been insisting on repairing the seaside mansion and had sent Zuko to make notes on what work needed to be done. He made it as far as the porch before the rotted wood gave way and he received a nasty gash on his leg. The contractor, a local woman, who had been hired by Iroh, told him that there was a woman from the Northern Water Tribe with the ability to heal just about anything. 

“She healed my own son’s broken arm,” the contractor said. “She was able to do in two sessions what would have taken months on its own.” Zuko knew that the cut was at risk of infection, so he allowed his attendants to take him to the healer. 

The healer worked out of a rundown looking shack which looked like it wouldn’t survive the weakest storms of the typhoon season. Zuko was expecting the healer who matched her hut- old, run-down, and held together by sheer stubbornness, but the woman who greeted him and his attendants was young, beautiful, and moved like the element she controlled. She was a small woman, just coming up to Zuko's shoulders, but she held herself as if she were seven feet tall. She studied Zuko down her nose with kind, but clinical eyes. Even in the imperfect light of the lamp she had burning overhead, Zuko could tell those eyes were the same crystalline blue of the tropical waters around Ember Island. Her hair was pulled back in a long, dark braid down her back, with two locks of hair framing her dark, sculpted face. She was beautiful. That was a problem. 

Zuko had always had trouble speaking around women he found attractive. He had hoped that he would outgrow it when puberty ended, but his self-consciousness had stuck around long after his voice had deepened, and he had reached his full height. He felt most of the blame lay with the disfiguring scar on his face, but the reason for his shyness hardly mattered at the moment. Even now he could feel his shoulders inching up towards his ears. She was staring at him expectantly, and Zuko realized she had said something.

"Um…" Zuko mumbled intelligently. "Hi. Zuko here." The healer blinked in bewilderment, and let out a surprised laugh. She had a smile that lit up her whole face and made Zuko want to escape quickly before he said something truly embarrassing. 

"Hi, Zuko," she said, still sounding like she was laughing. "I'm Katara. How can I help you?" Zuko's face went stoic in his panic.

“My lord, the Crown Prince, has hurt his leg,” one of the attendants told Katara coldly, disapproving of her familiarity. Blushing slightly, Zuko showed her the blood-soaked bandage covering his wound. True to her reputation, Katara was able to heal it in minutes. Zuko watched in awe as his flesh was knitted back together under the blue glowing water surrounding her hands. When she told him the charge for her service, Zuko balked and tried to pay her twice what she asked. 

“There’s no need,” Katara insisted. “I charge what I need to get by.” Zuko wisely chose to keep his thoughts about her current set up to himself. 

“May I take you to dinner?” he asked impulsively. As soon as the words left his mouth, he felt the blood rush to his face in what was certainly a spectacular blush. Katara smiled at him, her smart blue eyes sparkling with amusement. 

“Well, this is an honor,” she said. “It’s not every day a woman is asked to dine with royalty. But I’m going to have to say no thank you.” 

“Right, of course,” Zuko mumbled. “I’m sorry to bother you. I’ll just…” Zuko stumbled out of the hut, followed closely by his attendants, vowing to never do that again. 

That evening, after the contractor had finished her work for the day, Zuko decided to take a walk on the beach. He dismissed his guards for an hour or two. He was unlikely to be ambushed from the sea, and even if that were to happen, he was a master firebender and could hold his own for at least a few minutes. 

As he walked along the beach, he came across an odd trail. It looked as if something had dragged itself out of the ocean and onto the sand. Zuko followed the trail, wondering what sort of animal had made it when the dragging marks suddenly became footprints. Zuko tracked them with his eyes, following them up to an outcropping of rocks. At the top stood a woman with her back to him, with her gaze out over the ocean. Her long dark hair blew in the breeze off the water. Zuko scrambled up the rocks quickly. 

“What are you doing here?” he demanded. The woman spun around with a water whip already forming at her hand. Zuko stumbled back in surprise. “Katara?”   
  


“Oh!” Katara gasped, seeming as startled to see him. She released the water in her grip with an apologetic smile. “I didn’t hear you coming.” Zuko’s quick eyes took in her swimsuit, and the strange-looking robe piled at her feet. 

“What are you doing here?” he asked again, but in a kinder tone. 

“I live nearby,” Katara explained. She reached down and gathered the robe in her arms, holding it to her chest protectively. “I was taking a walk.” 

“A walk?” Zuko’s good brow drew down in confusion. “This beach is private. The guards should have stopped you.” Katara’s eyes went wide as saucers, and Zuko could actually see her thinking up a cover story. 

“I..I don’t think anyone saw me,’ she said. “I was swimming a bit away, and I must have accidentally come up past the checkpoint. I’m so sorry. I’ll go now.” And she did go. She rushed past Zuko down the rocks and nearly ran up the beach and into the woods that surrounded the summer house.

“Wait!” Zuko called after her. “That’s the wrong way!” But Katara was already gone. The guards, hearing the prince’s shouts, had come immediately. When he told them about Katara, they went searching for her. The grounds were extensive, but they were surrounded by unscalable walls, and the guards moved quickly. Still, she was nowhere to be found. The only trace of her they could find was her footprints in the dirt trail leading back down to the beach near the far wall. They disappeared when the sand gave way to pebbles, but no one thought she could have continued that way. That part of the beach had been claimed by a herd of camel seals. One of them lifted it’s head and stared at the prince and his guards intently for a moment, and then ducked its head back towards the ground. Katara had disappeared. 

“Is she dangerous?” a guard asked Zuko. The prince shook his head uncertainly. 

“I don’t think so,” he said. “She could have attacked me on the rocks just now, but she didn’t. I don’t think she was expecting me. She sure is strange though.” The seal that had been watching them earlier lifted its head once more and let out an irritated bark. 

“We should go,” Zuko told his men. “We’re disturbing the seals.” 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.*

Katara was almost expecting Zuko’s visit to her healing hut the next day. If anything, he arrived later in the day than she thought he would. He had his guards stand outside while he went in to talk to her. 

“I hope you haven’t hurt yourself again,” she greeted him. 

“No, I’m alright,” he said. “I just wanted to make sure you were okay.” Katara stared at him blithely, not giving away any hint of surprise or guilt. 

“I’m fine, as you can see.” But Zuko wasn’t fooled. He could tell she was hiding something. 

“I just wanted to check for myself. After all, you did disappear from my beach. I was worried the seals may have eaten you.” 

“Seals don’t eat people,” Katara said, ignoring the first part. She turned away from Zuko and pretended to be busy straightening up her work area. ‘And I would hope that after growing up in the Southern Water Tribe, I know how to behave around them.” 

“Where did you go?” Zuko asked. “How did you get out without my guards seeing you?”

“I went home,” Katara explained with a shrug. “And how should I know how your guards missed me? Maybe I’m just too fast.” Katara shot him a sidelong, sheepish glance and added in a more contrite tone, “I honestly didn’t mean to trespass. I’ve been going to that beach since I arrived in town. I didn’t know it was off-limits.” 

“It’s...alright.” Zuko wasn’t sure what else to say. “Um...you can keep going to the beach there. If you want to. I don't mind. Just let the guards know when you arrive.” Katara nodded hesitantly. 

“I can do that,” she said. A patient arrived then, and Zuko excused himself. He left with his guards, and when he was gone, Katara let out a sigh of relief. She had agreed to Zuko’s terms for use of his beach, but things would become more complicated for her. 

Katara had recognized Crown Prince Zuko almost immediately when he was half-carried into her makeshift clinic the day before. Her father had described him to Katara in detail, from his appearance to his demeanor after he had gone to the signing of the peace treaty when his uncle became Fire Lord. She wasn't surprised that he hadn't recognized her, though. The chief of the Southern Water Tribe was only slightly higher in rank than the chief of the Foggy Swamp Tribe. The names of Hakoda's children were probably not even mentioned. And there was only one source likely to spread the word of her running away, but  _ he  _ was unlikely to spread the story himself.

For her part, Katara was trying to keep a low profile. She had been traveling around the world for two years, and in that time she had mastered the water bending styles of the Northern Tribe and the Foggy Swamp, both fighting and healing. Since the war had ended, there wasn’t much fighting to be done, but she had found that traveling around as a healer had granted her the freedom she had dreamt of during the war. As long as she could leave a place before her reputation got too big, she was fine. It usually took at least a couple of months. Now that Prince Zuko had noticed her, though, she might have to think about disappearing again. After all, if he mentioned to his uncle the healing waterbender on Ember Island, it wouldn’t take much for her name to make it places it shouldn’t be. Something similar had happened when she was in the Northern Tribe. 

But, Katara thought as she worked on her patient, that might be borrowing trouble before time. After all, no one knew  _ how _ she had managed to make her quick escapes. And Ember Island was lovely during the summer. She had wanted to stay until the end of the seals’ calving season and then move on with them. There was no reason to assume that Prince Zuko cared enough about meeting her to mention it to anyone who would care to tell anyone else. To him, she was probably some poor Water Tribe expatriate who came to Ember Island to make some quick money. Allowing her access to his private overgrown beach was a kindness it probably wouldn’t cross his mind to mention to anyone beyond his staff. Katara was comforted enough by her reasoning to put off her departure plans for the moment. 

She went to Zuko’s beach after her last patient for the day. As he promised, she was given access with no trouble. The small rucksack she carried with her hadn’t even been searched. That was a bit uncautious, Katara thought, but it did spare her the trouble of explaining the seal skin robe she carried with her everywhere. She made her way towards the beach along a winding path that cut past the summer house. Zuko was standing at the edge of the path studying the landscape and scribbling on the pad. 

“What are you writing?” Katara asked. Zuko did a double-take when he saw her.

“Oh!” he said. “You’re here!” Katara arched her brow at him. 

“You  _ did _ say I could come to the beach,” she said. “Or is this a bad time?” Zuko flushed lightly, and Katara found herself smiling at his flusterment. 

“No!” Zuko said quickly.”I mean, it’s not a bad time. It’s just...I guess I wasn’t expecting you so soon.” 

“Please don’t feel you have to entertain me.” Katara did her best to hide her smile. She didn’t want Zuko to think she was laughing at him. “I can see you’re busy, and I don’t want to interrupt.” 

“It’s not important.” Zuko scowled at the paper in his hands. “I was trying to come up with some ideas for the garden, but I don’t have my uncle’s eye for this kind of thing.” 

"A garden?" Katara looked around the yard trying to imagine the overgrown area clear of the tangled green foliage and wood, and blooming with flowers. 

"Here," Zuko passed her the paper he had been scribbling on, and Katara realized he hadn't been scribbling at all, but sketching.

"I think you're a talented artist," she said after a moment, running her fingers lightly over the brush strokes. "But I'm afraid I can't help you with planning. I've seen exactly one garden in my life that wasn't sculpted from ice. And it was only Ba Sing Se's middle tier. I'm sure you're looking for something a bit more elegant." 

"Yes," Zuko agreed. "I also don't think the flowers that grow in the Earth Kingdom would survive here." Katara handed him back the sketch and shrugged.

"Sorry I can't help you." 

"It's alright." Zuko sighed and put the painting in a folio. He glanced at Katara nervously from the corner of his eye. "I can't look at plants anymore. Do you… would you mind some company by the water?" 

"The more the merrier," Katara grinned at him. "It would be impolite to bar the guy who owns the place from his own beach." Zuko's face heated up, and he rubbed the back of his neck with his free hand.

"I don't want to impose," he said quickly. "I don't have to go with you." Katara laughed and caught the hem of his shirt.

"I was only kidding," she promised. "Come on, before the sun sets."

Katara showed up every day after she was done healing. Sometimes she would swim alone, and sometimes Zuko would join her. She liked these times best, even though Zuko kept asking questions Katara couldn't answer. She hadn’t realized how lonely she had been in her travels until then, and she found herself closing up earlier and earlier so she could get to that private stretch of beach. 

Zuko had a lot fewer guards up than Katara. She soon learned all about him. He told her about growing up with Ozai, and his mother’s death. She found out that he had a younger sister who, in his estimate, was much smarter and more powerful than he was, but who had broken under their father’s strict insistence on perfectionism. She was currently receiving mental health treatments in a remote country estate, but Zuko was hopeful that one day she would be well and free from her father’s influence. 

He told Katara how he felt unprepared to take the throne of the Fire Nation, though Katara thought his fears were unfounded. As she spent time around the beach house, Katara paid attention to the servants and guards and hired workers on the property. They were devoted to their prince, she soon found out. And he in return was an attentive, kind, and respectful leader. He was firm when he needed to be, but mostly he was gentle, and even paternal despite being younger than most by some years. After hearing about the horrors of his father, and of being privy to the worries Hakoda had of him eventually ascending the Fire Nation throne, Katara was glad to find Zuko a different sort of man altogether. He would be a good ruler, Katara could tell, and she wished she could let her father know what she had learned. 

At night, she left through the gate, usually after having dinner with Zuko. He always offered to walk her home or to send a guard with her, but Katara refused, saying she wasn’t going far. Zuko assumed she slept at the healing hut, but he stopped by early one morning on his way to meet with the contractor and found the door hanging slightly open and the hut empty. 

“I’m not open for another hour.” Zuko yelped and spun around to find Katara behind him. She was wearing the strange seal skin robe he had seen the first time he found her on his beach. 

“I’m sorry,” Zuko said. “I wasn’t looking to break in, but the door was open, and I...were you on a walk?” 

Katara shook her head. “I was just coming to get this place ready for the day.” 

Zuko’s brow drew down. “You don’t sleep here?” he asked. 

“Did you need me for something?” Katara asked. Her eyes swept over him in a clinical manner that meant she was looking for an injury. Not finding anything immediately wrong, she met Zuko’s eyes questioningly. 

“Nothing important,” Zuko said. ‘I was on my way to a meeting, but I’m a bit early. I wanted to see if you wanted to have breakfast with me.” Katara smiled at the offer but shook her head. 

“I already ate,” she told him. “But I’ll be stopping by the beach later.

“I have another meeting later,” Zuko shook his head, unable to keep the frustration from his voice. “My uncle wants me to meet with the governor. And then I have to leave for a few weeks. My uncle is sending me to meet with the king of Omashu.” 

“Oh! You didn’t mention you were leaving.” Zuko wanted to believe that he wasn’t imagining the disappointment in Katara’s face. 

“I just got word from him last night,” Zuko explained. “The renovations at the beach house are a side project, but I am still my uncle’s heir.”

“You’ll be back in a few weeks?” Katara had walked around Zuko and into the healing hut. She fumbled around for her spark rocks for a moment before Zuko lit the lamp himself. 

“That’s the plan,” Zuko said hesitantly. “But it might be longer if my uncle decides he needs me somewhere else.” 

“I see.” Katara glanced away, and Zuko knew this time he wasn’t imagining the way her mouth turned down quickly. His heart sped up and he decided to take his chance. 

“Would you maybe want to come with us?” 

“ _ What _ ?” Katara gaped at Zuko in astonishment. 

“We could use a healer,” Zuko hurriedly explained. “It’s a job offer. And I can pay you whatever you’d like. Room and board are included, and you’d have your own room.”

“Well, I’ve never been to Omashu,” Katara said thoughtfully. Zuko beamed at her. 

“It’s great!” he told her. “The city is amazing, and there’s tons of stuff to do once you’re there. Well, King Bumi’s a bit weird, but he’s not a bad guy. And my uncle says the Avatar is going to be there around the same time-”

“The Avatar?” Katara’s spine went stiff, and she did her best to keep her face neutral. “The Avatar is going to be there?”

“Yes, more than likely,” Zuko frowned slightly. “Is that a prob-”

“I can’t go,” Katara cut in. Her voice was almost sharp. “I’m sorry. Thank you for the offer, but I won’t be able to join you.” 

“But, why-” Katara had taken Zuko’s arm and was leading him out of the hut. 

“If I don’t see you before you leave, have a safe trip.” Katara gazed up at Zuko, clinging to the door frame. She seemed to be on the edge of saying something else, but then she just shook her head with a rueful smile. “Take care of yourself.” And then she shut the door. 

Zuko was baffled for the rest of the day. He barely heard what anyone said in his meeting with the contractor or with the governor. Fortunately, he was able to get away with smiling and nodding for the most part. Although dinner with the governor and his family was a bit more difficult. The governor’s wife kept trying to draw Zuko into conversation with her and her daughter, but the only thing Zuko wanted to talk about- why Katara had shut down so abruptly- wouldn’t have done him any favors. When he was finally able to leave, Zuko stopped by Katara’s hut and peered inside the darkened window. She wasn’t there, and from what Zuko could make out in the dim light of the flame in his hand, there wasn’t anyplace set up for sleeping. He shook his head in confusion and moved on. 

The guards at the gate greeted Zuko with formal bows and told him that he had just missed Katara by a few minutes. She was gone for the night, and Zuko felt irritated at himself for not just coming straight home. He might have had a chance to talk to Katara. To ask questions. To say good-bye.  _ Something!  _ With a sigh, Zuko decided that he wasn’t ready to be inside yet. He headed down towards the beach instead. 

The winding path was in the process of being cleared, but there were still thick tangles of underbrush here and there that obstructed the view of the beach at certain turns. Zuko emerged from one of these turns to see two figures standing on the beach. One of them Zuko recognized immediately as Katara in her odd seal skin robe, and the other was a woman clad in a flowing white gown that seemed to glow in the moonlight. She had an arm around Katara’s shoulders, and they seemed to be in deep conversation. Zuko gasped and took off running down the path. How had Katara returned without being spotted again? Why was she here? Who was that woman she was talking to? Had Katara been crying? All of these questions raced through his mind as he rounded another blind turn before stumbling on to the beach. 

There was no one there. No Katara. No strange woman. Zuko spun around searching the rocky outcrop and the water and the path, in case they had somehow managed to get past him. Nothing. Zuko knew that Katara was a waterbender, but he didn’t see how she could have disappeared into the water so quickly. He narrowed his eyes and looked over the water. The only being he could see was one of the seals from the herd staying nearby. 

  
  


_.*.*.*.*.*.*.*. _

Katara had gone to Zuko’s beach as usual after her day was done. Even though he had told her that he would be busy that evening, she had hoped they might cross paths. She wanted to apologize for her abruptness earlier, even though she wouldn’t be able to explain it. And she wanted to say good-bye properly, just in case…

The sun had long since set by the time Katara decided that Zuko wouldn’t be showing up after all. She left clinging to the hope that he had just been held up, and he wasn’t just avoiding her. When she wasn’t in sight of the guards anymore, Katara took her seal skin robe from her rucksack and threw it on over her shoulders. Then she doubled back, taking the rough secret path back down to the beach. 

There was a company waiting for her by the water’s edge. 

“It’s been a while,” Katara said, coming up beside the woman in the beautiful white gown. The Moon Spirit smiled at Katara serenely. She drew her robe a bit tighter around her shoulders to stave off the sudden chilly breeze off the ocean, and also to hide her much shabbier clothes. 

“Has it?” the spirit asked curiously. Katara nodded.

“Two years.” 

“Well,” Yue said with a shrug, “time works a bit differently for us spirits. I thought I’d check on you. How have you been doing?”

“Great!” Katara said with a smile. “I’ve been all over the world. I’ve mastered two forms of waterbending and healing. And I’ve met so many interesting people. I truly am grateful for everything you did for me, Yue.” The Moon spirit smiled kindly and leaned towards Katara expectantly. 

“But…” she prompted. Katara’s smile wavered, and then finally disappeared with a sigh.

“I miss my family,” she said. “I haven’t seen them in so long. And I can’t really write to them. I can’t stay in one place too long, because I think someone will say something that will get back to…” Katara took a deep shuddering breath. Even after all this time, she couldn’t say his name comfortably. “He is looking for me. I had hoped that he would have given up on me by now, but he’s still trying to find me. I...I’m worried I won’t be able to keep hiding from him forever. And I'm worried about what will happen when he finally catches up with me.” 

Yue turned and stared out over the ocean with a fond smile. The moon had turned the surface a silvery-white color, and every now and then, a ripple would disturb the surface, sending rings of light in the direction of the two women- one mortal, one divine- standing on the sandy shore.

“He  _ is  _ still looking,” Yue said at last. It wasn’t a warning. There was nothing ominous in Yue’s tone. It was just a matter of fact. “And he will find you eventually. The world isn’t so large, and he is  _ very  _ determined.” Katara winced at that. 

“He kept saying that we’re destiny,” she murmured. “Am I destined to marry him after all? Did I just do all of this to end up right back where I started?” Yue regarded Katara with her unsettling gaze for a moment.

“No,” she said. “You won’t end up where you started. You’ve become far more powerful than you were. Far wiser. I think you’re beginning to understand the truth of destiny.” Katara’s brow furrowed in confusion. 

  
“What truth is that?” she asked. Yue smiled kindly and pulled Katara into a comforting embrace. 

“That destiny is what you choose to make of it.” Katara sighed and shook her head. 

“I wish I knew what that meant,” she said. Yue chuckled knowingly. 

“You’ll figure it out. I have every faith in you.” Yue released Katara and glanced back up the beach. “I think we should both get going now. Or you’ll have some interesting questions to answer.” Katara waded into the surf, letting the water wash over the hem of her robe. When she poked her head out of the water, Yue was gone, and Zuko was running towards the water, looking around in confusion. Katara shuddered at the thought of how close she had come to discovery and dove deep under the waves. 


	2. Part 2:  Chasing Destiny

Zuko had met the Avatar a few times since the younger boy defeated his father and helped his uncle take the throne of the Fire Nation. He found it difficult to reconcile the myth and legend surrounding the Avatar with the reality of Aang. The Avatar had returned to end a war that had been raging for a century. Aang was a seventeen-year-old boy with a crooked smile and a tendency towards rambunctiousness. On his own, he was a lot. In combination with Bumi, the centenarian king of Omashu with a penchant for strangeness, and the childhood friend of the Avatar (thinking about how that worked _still_ made Zuko’s head spin), Aang was borderline obnoxious. At least he had been the last time Zuko had been in his company just over two years ago.

Aang seemed distracted throughout Zuko’s time in Omashu. At first, the prince was relieved. He hadn’t been looking forward to Aang and Bumi trying to relive their childhood exploits again. And Zuko himself had his moments of distraction, too, when his thoughts turned back to the last time he had spoken to Katara. And the last time he had seen her. Still, Aang’s agitation seemed to keep growing, until Zuko’s last night in Omashu. Bumi had invited Zuko and Jee, the captain of Zuko’s ship, to a private dinner with him and Aang. Aang had sat quietly brooding the entire time, pushing his meal around his plate.

"Something wrong?" Bumi asked halfway through the awkward dinner. Zuko was glad _someone_ did. Aang forced a smile and shrugged.

"Same old," Aang said. His eyes flitted over to Zuko and Jee. Aang didn't want to discuss his issue in front of two relative strangers, which meant that it must be very serious. Aang wasn't one to keep much to himself. Zuko was curious but willing not to pry.

"Girl trouble?" Bumi, however, had no such sense of tact. Aang looked up startled. Bumi was also correct. He fixed his friend with his unnerving, wild-eyed gaze. 

"Same one?" Bumi pressed. Aang's face flushed a deep red.

"Bumi," he said sharply. His tone caught Zuko and Jee off guard. They had never seen the Avatar anything other than cheerful. They had both been away from the capital when he defeated Fire Lord Ozai. It was an alarming departure from his normally jovial nature, but Bumi didn't seem bothered by it.

"I'm just saying, two years is a long time to be fixated on a woman who _doesn't want you_ ," he said with a shrug. 

"She's my destiny," Aang sighed mournfully.

“Seems she doesn’t tend to agree,” Bumi shrugged. Aang did not appreciate his friend’s observation. He stood up and glowered at Bumi furiously. 

“She _is_ my destiny," he almost growled. “And I am hers. She'll see for herself soon enough." Bumi raised a skeptical brow, but before he could say anything else, Aang stormed off from the dinner table, slamming the door shut behind him.

"Poor kid," Bumi sighed sadly. "Stupid, too."

"What was _that_ about?" Zuko asked, unable to stop himself. Bumi looked around, conspiratorially, though the three men were alone in his private dining room. 

"Some girl jilted him two years ago, and he hasn't gotten over it," Bumi said. He scratched his chin thoughtfully. "Can't say that I blame her. Aang's my buddy, but from what I have been able to gather of the story, she actually tried to let him down gently, but he just wouldn't take no for an answer. She disappeared the day they were supposed to get married after tricking Aang with a talking mirror. 

"A _talking mirror_ ," Zuko snorted. "Aren’t you a bit...mature to believe in fairytales?" Bumi fixed Zuko in his stare now.

"Up until five years ago, the Avatar was a fairytale, too." Bumi leaned back in his chair and allowed his eyes to drift shut. "I have the mirror bit on good authority, which tells me the girl had help from the Spirit World. Which probably means that even the spirits don’t agree with his assertions of destiny. But try telling _that_ to an unhealthily fixated teenage boy."

"That is a shame," Jee said, shaking his head. "Talking mirrors aside, if the young lady turned him down, he ought to take her at her word." Bumi slammed a hand on the table and gestured at the captain wildly.

"Exactly what I have been telling him for two long years!" he shouted. "But he won't listen to _me_ , his oldest friend. By a lot. He needs a parent to sit him down and set him straight. And I'm afraid that poor young lady is never going to get to go home."

“Why can’t she go home?” Zuko asked. “Why can’t she just tell him once and for all that she doesn’t want to marry him.” Bumi turned his wild eyes on the young prince and snorted. 

  
“Have _you_ ever seen an angry Avatar?” he asked.

Aang seemed to be avoiding everyone after that. When Zuko’s ship was scheduled to depart, Aang had sauntered down the dock and gave a mumbled, half-hearted farewell. Zuko did his best not to seem offended, but he had never seen the Avatar behaving so much like a sullen teenager before. He shook it off, though. His duty to his uncle and nation was done, and Iroh hadn’t summoned him back to Caldera, so Zuko could go straight back to Ember Island.

*.*.*.*.*.*.*

The storm came up out of nowhere. Katara was startled by the sudden shift in weather, but that was nothing to what the crew on Zuko's ship was experiencing. Katara could dive deeper and swim under the turbulent waves until she could escape the worst of the storm. The small ship, though, was being tossed through the crashing waves as it tried to make for the relative safety of a harbor they had been heading towards when the storm overtook them.

Katara stuck close to the ship out of some compulsion she couldn't explain. She couldn't water bend very well as she was, so she couldn't help the ship into the harbor unless she took her human form. But in her human form, she would be helpless against the raging storm even with her water bending. Still, she swam beneath the struggling ship. 

It looked like they were going to make it. Katara tracked them to within five miles from the shore with a growing sense of relief. Once they made it to the island, they would be able to wait out the storm. But then, everything seemed to go wrong at once. The main mast snapped in the gale-force winds and crashed on the deck. The men who had been trying to guide the ship to safe harbor dove out of its way. One of them went tumbling over the side and into the turbulent water below.

Katara's seal body was sleek and powerful, even now. She propelled herself towards the man in the water at speed, angling herself beneath him. Then she broke the surface with him clinging weakly to her back. It would have been faster if Katara could dive, but she didn’t think her passenger was conscious enough to hold his breath, so she swam as quickly as she could against the crashing waves until she finally made it to the beach. She rolled the man off of her back and he groaned. He tried to lift his hands to shield himself from the rain, and in a flash of lightning, Katara saw that it was Zuko she had just rescued. 

There wasn’t much that Katara could do to make a shelter for Zuko, but she shed her seal skin and pulled him further up the beach, just out of reach of the waves. Then she covered him with the skin and waded into the water up to her knees. The ship was fighting a losing battle against the tide, and it listed dangerously to one side. Katara gritted her teeth and pulled up a wave on that side of the ship and righted it. Then, slowly- maddeningly slowly- she managed to pull the ship into shallow water despite resistance from the storm. From there, it beached itself on a sandbar. Getting the ship free again would be trial in itself, but it hadn’t sunk, and that was all that Katara could do for the moment. Exhausted from her efforts Katara stumbled back up the beach and collapsed in a heap.

.*.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Zuko woke to the sounds of seabirds calling to each other. The sun was creeping up over the horizon, and in the sky above him, Zuko could see the last of the stars winking out. His brow scrunched in confusion as he tried to piece together the events of...the day before? Where _was_ he? Zuko tried to sit up and gasped. A sharp pain radiating from his side alerted him to what were probably several broken ribs. Zuko moved slowly, assessing any further damage before he tried to move again. That was when he noticed the seal skin draped over him. It covered him like a blanket, but he didn’t remember finding it or pulling it over himself. But then, he couldn’t remember much before the freak storm had come upon the boat. 

“Mmm…” The tired groan alerted Zuko that he wasn’t alone. He turned sharply, ignoring the new wave of pain that movement sent through his body. He was expecting to see one of his crewmates, but lying several yards away from him was a woman dressed only in white under bindings. Zuko made his way over to her, thinking she had been hurt, but when he reached her he froze. 

“Katara?” he whispered incredulously. He didn’t speak very loud, but her eyes shot open and she was on her feet before Zuko could process it. Her eyes landed on him with a stony glare, but her gaze softened when she saw it was him. Zuko saw the wave she had called up instinctively melt back into the ocean. 

“You alright?” she asked. Her voice was gravelly and dry. She sounded as thirsty as Zuko felt. Zuko nodded in response to her question at first but then shook his head. 

“I mean...I think I broke a rib or two,” he explained. “What are you _doing_ here?” Katara sank on to the sand and guided Zuko to lie down. 

“Healing you at the moment,” she said. Zuko caught her hand as she was coating it in seawater. 

“That’s not what I meant.” He tried to sit up, but in his weakened state, Zuko couldn’t move the hand holding his shoulder down. “We’re hundreds of miles from Ember Island. Where even are we? Does anyone live here?” 

“You talk an awful lot for someone with two broken ribs.” Katara quirked an eyebrow down at him. Zuko fought back an annoyed scowl. 

“Where’s my crew?” Zuko shut his eyes, giving up his fight for the moment. Katara scanned the water and found the ship where she had left, on the sandbar about a mile away from the beach. Already she could see activity on its deck. She pointed it out to Zuko. 

“When I’m done here, you signal to your crew so they know to come to get you.” Katara probed Zuko’s side, happy to find that his ribs were just fractured, and not completely broken. That would have taken much longer to heal, and she didn’t want to spend much more time on the beach than she already had. 

“How did I get here?” Zuko asked. Katara paused in her work and smiled tightly. 

“With the tide,” she said. Zuko squinted up at her, suspiciously. 

“How did _you_ get here?” he asked. 

“With the tide.” 

That was all Zuko was able to get from her. When she finished with his ribs, Katara stood up and dusted as much sand from herself as she could- which wasn’t very much- collected the seal skin Zuko had woken up under and headed towards the tree line. 

  
“Wait!” Zuko called after her. Katara stopped and looked back at him. “Where are you going? Were you shipwrecked, too? We can take you somewhere safe.” Katara smiled sadly and shook her head. 

“I can take care of myself,” she assured him not unkindly. Zuko still reached out towards her. 

“Are you a spirit?” he asked her. That brought another smile, more wry than sad this time.

“I’m not a spirit,” Katara admitted with a shrug. “I just managed to get on one’s good side. See you around, Prince Zuko.” 

“Wait!” Zuko called. “Where are you going?” But Katara was already disappearing into the thick tangle of brush and trees. Zuko had half a mind to go after her, but he needed to let his crew know he was alive. He stood at the edge of the beach and sent two blasts of flame skyward. They were answered almost immediately by the ship, and distantly, Zuko could hear the shouts and cries of relief on the wind. 

The entire crew survived and they all believed it was a miracle. The ship was wrecked, though. They might have been able to salvage it if they had the supplies, but they scoured the island and found it uninhabited and devoid of any wood strong enough to make a decent mast. Fortunately, they were still close enough to Omashu to send to King Bumi for help. Once the letter had gone out, Zuko ordered his crew to search the beach for any signs of another shipwreck. 

“Highness?” Captain Jee asked. 

“I ran into a friend,” Zuko explained. “A healer I met on Ember Island.”

“Here?” Jee looked around skeptically. The search for help and supplies had revealed that the island was small. Too small for anyone to hide for very long. There had been no sign of anyone else. And soon it was confirmed that there was no sign of another shipwreck. 

“Maybe you dreamed it,” Jee suggested. Zuko shook his head. 

“She healed my broken ribs,” he said. “I didn’t dream that pain. She _was_ here.” 

“Then she must be a spirit.”

“No,” Zuko said, recalling her words. “She just managed to get on one’s good side.” 

Help arrived early the next day in the form of the Avatar and his flying bison. He was there to take Zuko and his men back to Omashu, where Bumi had their rooms at the palace still ready for them to stay until Fire Lord Iroh could send a ship. 

The men greeted Aang with the wild alacrity of men who had been lost at sea for months, instead of only shipwrecked for a few hours. Zuko hung back and let everyone else regale the Avatar with the story of their misadventure. The young man listened with interest until someone- Jee probably- mentioned what happened to Zuko. 

“He doesn’t think it was a spirit who rescued him,” he said. “But what else could just disappear like that?” Now Aang was suddenly _very_ interested in Zuko’s account, which Zuko gave very reluctantly. When he mentioned that the woman was a waterbender, Aang was suddenly in Zuko’s face, gripping his shoulders almost painfully. 

“Did she say what her name was?” Aang demanded. Zuko pushed him away irritably. 

“Her name is Katara,” Zuko told him. Then, without another word, Aang snapped open the glider he always kept on hand and took off, making slow circles around the island. 

“What was _that_ about?” Jee wondered aloud. Zuko watched as the human-shaped speck looped through the sky. 

“I think I met his ex,” he said. 

After they got back to Omashu, Zuko kept as much to himself as possible. He gave Aang the barest details he could get away with about his encounters with Katara. It was easy because Zuko didn’t know much about Katara, but it was difficult because Aang seemed certain that Zuko knew more than he was sharing. 

He asked Zuko where he’d met Katara.

“In a village in the Fire Nation.” 

He asked what she and Zuko had talked about. 

“Healing, mostly.”

He asked how Katara had ended up on the deserted island with Zuko. 

“No idea. She said she came in with the tide.”

He asked if Katara had mentioned him at all.

“Nope.” 

Zuko kept the sealskin to himself. He wasn’t sure why, but it seemed important that he not tell anyone about it. He also didn’t tell Aang about the days they spent together on the beach, or that she said she had a spirit friend looking out for her. Zuko figured if Aang was meant to know what was going on, then he could find out from the spirit world.

“Will you tell me if you find her again?” Aang asked hopefully. 

“Not unless she asked me to,” Zuko told him. Aang’s face fell in disappointment. 

“Why not?’ he pressed. 

“If she wants to talk to you, I’m sure she knows how to get in touch.” Zuko just wanted this conversation to end. But Aang heaved a deep sigh. 

“You don’t understand,” he said. “You don’t know what it’s like to be this in love.” Now Zuko scowled at Aang. 

“I understand that this woman has apparently been avoiding you for two years,” he snapped. “And I know that if you truly loved someone, then you’d consider what’s best for them and what makes them happy. If you love Katara like you say you do, then you should probably leave her alone.” Then Zuko spun on his heel and left the Avatar in a disgusted huff. 

The ship from his uncle arrived a few days later. Iroh had wanted his nephew to come home, but since it wasn’t an official summons from the Fire Lord, Zuko decided to make a short stop on Ember Island. He convinced Jee that a delay of a day or two wouldn’t bother his uncle too much. Zuko wasn’t convinced of that himself, but he needed to go to Ember Island to see if Katara was still there. To warn her that Aang was looking for her if she was. 

The healer’s hut was empty. Someone told Zuko that Katara hadn’t been there in weeks. She had left when Zuko had, and everyone in town had simply assumed she had gone with him. But now Zuko was back and she wasn’t. It was a probability that Zuko thought he had prepared himself for, but he was still disappointed at the discovery. 

He should have gone back to the ship so they could continue the journey to the capital, but Zuko didn’t want to leave just yet. There was no conscious motive in the route. Zuko had simply wanted to sort through his tangled thoughts, and had allowed his feet to guide him. He followed the road back to the beach house. Then from the beach house, he walked the winding path down to the beach. 

The water glittered like gems beneath the moonlight, and a soft breeze mingled the briny smell of the surf with the warm damp smell of the tropical jungle behind him. There was a figure standing on a rock overlooking the water just a bit farther down the beach. Zuko made his way towards them, unhurriedly. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised to see you,” he said once he was close enough for Katara to hear him. She turned to him, smiling as if she had expected him. She was wearing the sealskin robe again. 

“I shouldn’t be surprised either,” she said. “But I really didn’t think you were coming back here. I heard that your uncle was anxious to have you home again.” Zuko didn’t ask how she had heard that. He climbed up the rocks and came to stand beside her. 

“Am I allowed to ask questions now?” 

“I might not answer. But sure, go ahead.” Katara shrugged carelessly and moved aside to give Zuko space on the rock. 

“Why are you here?” Zuko thought it was a safe place to begin. 

“I’m not sure,” Katara told him. “I’ve been traveling all over the world since I left home. I thought I'd been randomly ending up places, but who can tell once spirits get involved.” 

‘And you’re _not_ a spirit, right?” Zuko eyed Katara uncertainly. Katara laughed outright at that. 

“I promise, I’m not!” she said.

“You just managed to get on one’s good side?” Zuko finished. Katara nodded. They lapsed into a comfortable silence. Zuko sat down on the rock, and Katara settled beside him a moment later. 

“How did you save me in that storm?” Zuko asked after a while. “How did you get back here?” Katara smirked at him and shook her head. 

“You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.” 

“I don’t know,” Zuko regarded Katara carefully. “I have a feeling that there isn’t much you could tell me that I wouldn’t believe. Who are you?” 

“I am Katara, daughter of Chief Hakoda of the Southern Water Tribe,” she said. She regarded Zuko with a sparkle of amusement in her eyes. “I think you met my father once.” 

“I didn’t know Chief Hakoda had a daughter.” 

“He does,” Katara nodded. “And I swam here.” Almost immediately, Zuko’s assertion that he would believe anything she said was challenged. Swimming the ocean was impossible for anyone, even a waterbender. 

“When you say swam…”

“I mean I went into the waters at the Southern Tribe and swam around the world,” Katara said. “I told you, Zuko, I’m friends with a spirit.” Zuko nodded dumbly. But he had no reason to doubt her. It explained how she managed to turn up and disappear so quickly. 

“Did you really run away to get out of marrying the Avatar?” he asked. Katara turned to him sharply, and for a moment Zuko thought she was getting ready to bolt.

“You don’t have to answer that,” he scrambled. “You don’t have to tell me what happened if you don’t want to. He...he asked me to tell him if I ran into you again, but I told him no. You don’t owe me an explanation.”

“I was wondering if that had come up in your meeting." Katara settled back into her seat and sighed sadly. "We used to be friends, you know. Aang and I. I was the one who found him in the iceberg. And I was the one who convinced him to stop the Fire Lord.” She glanced up at Zuko with an inscrutable look. “He thought that I would be the spoils of that victory. And I almost was, but I didn’t want that.” Zuko hummed under his breath in understanding. 

“He’s still looking for you,” he told Katara.

“I know. That’s why I turned down your job offer.” Katara looked out over the dark horizon. “If- _when_ Aang finds me...well, it’s better if he finds me alone.” 

“He might not find you.” The hopeful words rang false even to Zuko’s ears. Katara shook her.

“The world is small and he’s determined,” Katara said. “He’ll catch up eventually. And he won’t be happy when I turn him down again.”

“You shouldn’t have to face him alone.” Zuko’s brow furrowed at the thought. “If you want, I can be with you.” 

“Is this where you tell me you mean to take me to him?” Katara was smiling wryly, but she had that look in her eyes again as if she were going to bolt. Impulsively, Zuko reached out for her hand. 

“He will _never_ find out where you are from me,” he swore. “I already told him that. But if _you_ wanted to go confront him, I would go with you.” Katara blinked in surprise, but she hadn’t pulled her hand from his. 

“Why?” she asked him. Zuko didn’t say anything. He looked from their intertwined hands to Katara’s eyes- her intelligent, sharp, kind eyes. Then he leaned forward, slowly, ready to pull back if she denied him permission. Katara met his gaze levelly and nodded slightly. Her eyes drifted shut and Zuko closed the space between them. 

As they kissed, beneath the moon on that private beach, Katara wondered, is _this_ what destiny feels like?


	3. Part 3: How Katara Got Her Seal Skin

**_Part 3: How Katara Got Her Seal Skin_ **

  
  


The first time Aang asked for Katara's hand in marriage, Hakoda said no. Katara didn't love him, and he wouldn't sacrifice her happiness to Aang's misguided pursuit. In his anguish, Aang had destroyed nearly half of the village center with fire, floods, and quakes. Only Katara had been able to snap him out of it. That was why he needed her, Aang explained desperately. Katara was the only one in the world who could soothe the wild spirit that lived inside the Avatar. Still, Katara wanted to refuse, and her family supported her. But the rest of the Southern Tribe couldn't understand their stubbornness. After all, it was a relatively small sacrifice. The Northern Tribe, the Earth Kingdom, and even the Fire Nation had given their children up in such sacrifices for centuries. And it wasn't as if they were asking Katara to allow herself to be traded for anything so small as territory or wealth. She would be protecting the entire world by marrying Aang. With so many of their people pushing for the match, one by one, Katara's family reluctantly agreed to it.

No one liked the arrangement. Hakoda tried to keep a brave face and to tell his daughter about all the wonderful things she would get to see. She had never left their home before. The war had made them insular. Only the men old enough to fight had ever ventured from their icy shores. As the Avatar's wife, Katara would get to meet the most powerful people in the world. She would visit places that Hakoda had only seen through the smokey haze of battle. And she would have the chance to find someone to train her in waterbending. His words rang hollow and false, and his optimistic smile never quite reached his eyes. 

Sokka refused to speak about it for his sister's sake, but he took his frustration out on the wood and ivory he whittled into nothing during the long nights. Katara suspected he was imagining Aang every time he dragged the knife across what should have become polar bear dogs and blackfish. 

Kanna was the most vocal in her rage. She would rant for hours to whoever would listen, cursing Aang and vowing to rescue her beloved granddaughter from a marriage she didn't want. After all, Kanna had run thousands of miles away from her home to avoid this exact situation. Well, maybe not this exact situation. No one as powerful as the Avatar had ever come around for  _ her  _ hand. Who could possibly say no to the savior of the world?

For her part, Katara was resigned to her fate. She had spent years trying to put Aang off. That he had been enamored with her since the day she had found him in that iceberg was as obvious to her as anyone else who saw them together. That she wasn't in love with him was equally obvious. When she told him that, though, he had just shrugged. She was his destiny, he told her. Her love would grow over time. In the meanwhile, Aang would love her enough for both of them. He wouldn't listen to her reasoning, and with the threat of his terrible powers leaning against her people, Katara knew she had no choice. 

They had been friends once, Katara remembered. Back before Aang had gone off to end the war between the Fire Nation and the rest of the world. Before he knew he could back up his selfish whims with an earth-shaking, village flattening display of his anger. Maybe, Katara reasoned, she could find at least that much affection for the boy again. 

The night Katara and her family made the final decision to accept Aang's proposal, Katara went to her room and cried. She buried her face in her pillow, so no one could hear. That was why she didn't notice the moon's light filling her room, making a lantern useless with its glow. What she noticed first was the feeling of not being alone. Katara shot up on her bed and found a beautiful woman, with hair as silvery as the moon watching her.

"Who are you?" Katara asked, in awe of being in the spirit's presence. 

"I am the Moon," the woman said. "But I was once called Yue." Yue smiled at Katara sympathetically, and Katara realized that the spirit didn't appear to be much older than she was. Then Katara remembered herself and knelt before the spirit of the Moon, the source of all waterbending.

"I'm sorry if I offended you," Katara said. "I know I can't fight destiny. And if my destiny is to marry the Avatar, I will accept it. I will try to be happy with him." Yue reached out and stroked the top of Katara's head. Katara gasped in surprise and looked up. Yue was still smiling that gentle, empathetic smile. 

"Destiny is a funny thing," she said. "When I was a mortal girl, I was betrothed to marry a powerful man, too. I thought that was my destiny. But it wasn't."

"Is...is Aang not my destiny?" Katara asked. "But he's the Avatar. He speaks for the Spirit World. He saved this world, and he wants me in return."

"Destiny is rarely that straight forward," Yue chuckled. "And even the Avatar cannot dictate the destiny of others." Katara wanted to believe Yue. The bit of hope that had been slowly dying inside of her suddenly flared up. But Katara forced it down and shook her head.

"He'll destroy my people if I refuse him," Katara said. "He says I'm the only one who can help him control his power." The room felt suddenly colder. Katara chanced a lookup and saw the fleeting flash of rage in Yue's impossibly silver eyes.

"I can help you," Yue promised her. "But you must do as I say, and not tell anyone that I have spoken to you." Katara nodded, not trusting her own voice just then. 

"Good." Yue told Katara what to do, and then she was gone as suddenly as she had appeared. The next morning, Katara sat with her father and as Yue instructed her, made her strange request. Hakoda, half fearing his daughter had lost her mind, agreed to pass it on to Aang. It went as well as Hakoda expected.

"You're joking," the Avatar said, forcing a laugh. Hakoda shook his head firmly.

"Here we allow our women to ask for anything in the marriage arrangements," he said. "And if her would-be-husband can't deliver, it's up to her if she wants to go forward with the marriage." Aang nodded. It was only right. He would do anything to have Katara as his wife. 

"But a talking mirror?" Aang asked incredulously. Hakoda shrugged, trying to look more confident than he felt. 

"You are the Avatar," he reasoned, partly to himself. "If anyone can find one, it's you." To Hakoda's immense surprise, Aang agreed. He left the very next day on his quest. Katara and her family rejoiced. 

"He'll never find it!" Sokka declared when Aang was gone. "He'll search for his whole life and never find a talking mirror. Great plan, Katara!" 

The villagers were less thrilled. They didn't think Aang would be able to find the mirror either. But they thought he would give up, and in his rage and humiliation over the impossible task, he would destroy all of the Southern Tribe. They spoke amongst themselves in hushed tones. They whispered about Katara's pride and their chief's selfish devotion to his children's whims. They were all silenced, however, when Aang returned some weeks later, triumphantly bearing a mirror.

It was a gorgeous work of art, made of heavy, red-stained wood, with a pure gold filigree.. It was almost too large for the chief's home, but between them, Hakoda, Sokka, and Aang managed to bring it to Katara's room. Once they had set it up, the mirror began speaking. 

"Hello, beautiful!" it said in tones that sounded as silvery and polished as its surface. "You look gorgeous today!"

“I didn’t think you were the type of girl who needed to be told she’s pretty constantly,” Aang said with not a little distaste. “ _ I _ was planning to do that anyway.”

Aang had done it! He had done the impossible! He had done something even harder than ending the Hundred Year War. Katara would  _ have  _ to marry him now, for sure. Aang went away for the evening, anticipating the celebration of his betrothal to Katara the next day. He didn't see how her face fell, or the heartsick looks exchanged by her family.

That night, Katara covered the mirror in a fur rug, and then she fell onto her bed and cried bitterly. 

"Ah! My lady Moon," the mirror chimed sometime late in the night. Katara looked up and found that the rug had slipped from the mirror, and Yue was once more sitting there, watching her cry. Katara couldn't find it in herself to be angry though. She flung herself at Yue's feet and wept into her lap. 

"Why are you crying?" Yue asked, stroking Katara's hair. Katara gestured to the mirror.

"He did it," Katara explained. "Aang found a talking mirror! He wants to announce our engagement tomorrow and marry me by the end of the week. I can't refuse him  _ now _ ." At the thought of it, Katara began to cry again. 

"There's no need for crying," Yue said soothingly. "I will still help you." Katara looked up at the Moon spirit in confusion. 

"But he did it, though. Aang did the impossible, and he did it for me." Yue shrugged.

"Mortals have a very narrow view of what's possible," she said. "If you will trust me one more time, I will tell you what to do next." The tears were drying in Katara's face now as she stared up at the Moon's serenely smiling face. Once again, she nodded her agreement. 

Hakoda nearly refused his daughter this time. It seemed to him that she was only trying to delay the inevitable, and that would only make things harder for her. But Katara insisted, and once they heard what Katara was asking, Sokka and Kanna took Katara's side. Eventually, Hakoda allowed himself to be convinced, and he called Aang for another meeting.

"You can't be serious." Aang's face was twisted with annoyance and disgust. Hakoda wouldn't budge, though.

"Hunting is very important to our people," he said gravely. "It is traditional for the man to prove himself to be a good provider by presenting the family of his intended with the spoils from a hunt. Then we cook it and celebrate the engagement with a banquet made from it." Aang looked as though he would be sick.

"My people didn't hunt," he argued. "I am a vegetarian. And once we marry, Katara will be one, too." 

"Has she already agreed to that?" Hakoda asked. Aang flushed as he hemmed and hawed.

"Not in so many words," he admitted. "But she  _ knows  _ I don't eat meat. I don't want my children to eat it, either." Hakoda shrugged, trying to keep his face neutral.

"Katara wants to marry according to our traditions," he said. "One hunt won't hurt you. And you don't have to eat any of it. But you are marrying a Water Tribe woman, and so you have to respect the Water Tribe traditions." Aang agreed reluctantly, privately vowing never to allow his children to visit this harsh, barbarous land. Katara would learn to see it his way, eventually.

Katara's family was more cautious in their optimism this time. Aang had managed to find a talking mirror, but asking him to hunt and kill an animal was so fundamentally against his beliefs, that they didn't think he would really do it. The villagers thought that Aang would just come back and take Katara away by force rather than kill an animal. 

The only one not surprised when Aang returned a few days later with a fresh kill was Katara herself. She quietly and graciously accepted the camel seal, and with the help of her grandmother and a few of the village women, skinned the large animal. The meat was prepared for a feast that night, and Katara took the skin up to her room.

For the week leading up to the wedding, hardly anyone saw Katara. Her family crept through the house, as if they were preparing for a funeral, instead of Katara's wedding to the most powerful bender in the world. Katara didn't notice, though. She didn't leave her room that entire week. She worked night and day, stitching the skin together.

On the day of her wedding, Katara pulled on the robe she had made with the camel seal skin. Her grandmother helped her into it, alternating between grimly warning Katara what to expect later that night and wondering if Aang even knew what was supposed to happen. Katara submitted to the talk placidly. When Kanna was done, she left her granddaughter, staring into the mirror and smoothing the robe just so. Once Katara was sure Kanna wasn't coming back, she locked the door to her bedroom tight and slipped out of the window. 

After an hour, Hakoda came to check on her. He called through the door,

"Are you ready?"

"Not quite yet," the mirror replied in a perfect mimic of Katara's voice.

A while after that, Sokka knocked on the door.

"Hey, Katara," he called. "Aang will be here soon. Are you ready?"

"Not quite yet," the mirror replied.

Aang arrived soon after that. When he went to get his bride, the mirror told him she wasn't quite ready yet. So he sat with her family. Sokka and Kanna wouldn't look at him. Hakoda excused Katara's lateness, blaming it on wedding jitters. But then an hour passed. Then two. Sokka, Hakoda, and Aang all took turns knocking at Katara's door, asking if she was ready for the ceremony. Each time the mirror called back,

"Not quite yet!"

By the third hour, Aang's patience was spent. He was supposed to have been a married man already! But Katara was stalling, and giving no explanation other than she wasn't ready yet. Finally, Aang marched to his betrothed's room and banged on the door.

"I'm not quite ready yet," the mirror called out. 

"You can get married in your pajamas for all I care!" Aang shouted. He broke down her door with a blast of air but was startled to find the room empty. Hakoda, Sokka, and Kanna were right behind him, ready to lay into him for the destruction of part of their home, but the words died on their lips when they saw the empty room and open window.

"Katara?" Sokka's hesitant voice broke the silence. 

"Not quite ready yet!" The mirror replied. It was the last thing it said before Aang smashed it into bits with his glider. But it didn't matter. Katara was gone.

After she snuck out of her room, Katara had run as fast as she could to the water. Yue was waiting for her there. Her silver eyes sparkled in delight when she saw Katara. 

"What do I do now?" Katara asked frantically. She glanced back nervously, expecting to find half the village, led by Aang coming after her. "Please, Yue! I need to get away before they see I'm gone." 

"They won’t notice you’re going for a while yet,” Yue assured her. “You are free to go anywhere you please. Let the water touch the hem of your robe." 

Katara did as she was instructed, ignoring the biting cold of the water on her toes. As soon as a wave licked the edge of her seal skin, Katara began to glow. In a flash, she was gone, and in her place was a camel seal. Katara let out a startled bark and turned to Yue ruefully. 

"You can turn back any time you want," Yue laughed. "Just take off the skin." Katara poked around with her nose for a moment and found the seam beginning in the middle of her broad chest. It parted slightly, allowing the frigid wind through to her skin, her human skin, beneath the layer of seal flesh. Katara looked up at Yue and barked again. 

"You're welcome," Yue said kindly. "Go and find your own destiny!" Katara hurried into the water, moving clumsily in her new body. When she was up to her neck, she hesitated and turned back to Yue, barking again.

"Your people will be fine," the Moon spirit assured her. "They are under my protection, and they will still be here when you come back.' Satisfied with that, Katara dove into the ocean, disappearing beneath the waves, while back at her home, the talking mirror held off the discovery of her escape. 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

Katara and Zuko spent the rest of the night on the rock overlooking the ocean. Katara told Zuko her story from finding Aang when she was fourteen, to finally convincing him to face Fire Lord Ozai, to his spending the next three years trying to convince her to marry him, to his near destruction of her village when she kept rejecting him. 

“We were good friends once,” Katara said sadly. “But he wouldn’t let that be enough for him. He says that he can’t control the Avatar State without me.”

“Why should that be  _ your  _ responsibility?” Zuko asked. “I thought he had mastered the Avatar State. I wasn’t there when he faced Ozai, but I heard he made a really impressive sight. Aang took his firebending away. It sounds like he was very much in control.”

“He has kept it very quiet,” Katara told Zuko, “but he hasn’t mastered the Avatar State. He hasn’t even mastered all four elements yet.”

“He  _ hasn’t _ ?” Zuko blinked in surprise. Katara shook her head slowly. 

“He had mastered air and water before he wound up frozen in that iceberg,” she explained. “Then he started to learn earthbending after my brother and I woke him, but he hasn’t even begun firebending training. He has been able to enter the Avatar State when he’s really upset, but he can’t use it at will.”

“Spirits,” Zuko breathed. “What’s that got to do with you, though? If he’s the Avatar, isn’t it on  _ him _ to figure out the Avatar State on his own?” Katara threw her hands up helplessly. 

“I don’t understand how any of this Avatar stuff works!” she exclaimed. “The Southern Tribe doesn’t have much of a library left, and nothing I’ve seen says anything about the Avatar needing someone to help them control the Avatar State, but what do  _ I  _ know? I can’t marry him, though! I don’t  _ want _ my life to be wrangling his temper tantrums!” Zuko looked down at their hands still intertwined between them. Her hand shook slightly with high emotion. 

“I’ll help you,” he promised her. “I’ll speak to my uncle. He knows tons about this Spirit World stuff. I’m sure he’ll know how to handle this. I’ll help you hide, too. I mean i-if you want. You can stay here at the beach house. No one lives here. It still needs work, but the floors have been replaced, and the roof is-”

“Zuko!” Katara put her free hand on his cheek and made him look her in the eyes. She met him with a slightly bewildered smile. “Do you really think your uncle can help?” Zuko nodded vehemently. 

“Uncle is the wisest man I know,” he told Katara. “There’s a rumor he’s actually visited the spirit world. I don’t know how true that is, but if anyone in the world would know what to do about this, it’s him.” 

“Okay then,” Katara took a deep breath. “I’ll speak to him.” Zuko broke into a rare grin. He started to say something else when an odd shadow caught his eye. He looked up at the same time he heard Katara gasp. The Avatar’s bison passed in front of the crescent moon nearby. 

“I didn’t tell him, I swear!” Zuko said hurriedly. Katara stood up and drew her seal skin robe around herself. 

“I believe you,” she told him. “But if he thinks that he can get to me by following you, then you’re going to have a hard time shaking him.” Katara looked up at the sky nervously. “Please try to convince him you don’t know where I am.” Without another word, Katara stood at the edge of the rock and dove into the water below. Zuko scrambled to the edge just in time to see a wide, spotted flipper disappear into the dark waves.

She left not a moment too soon. Before Zuko made it off the beach, Aang landed his bison on the beach. 

“Avatar Aang,” Zuko greeted him. He kept his face carefully blank, but he hoped the young Avatar wouldn’t notice his shaking hands or hear his pounding heart. 

“She was here, wasn’t she?” Aang demanded, sliding down from the saddle. The giant bison let out a low rumbling groan, and Aang patted his neck distractedly. “Easy, Appa.”

“I wasn’t expecting to see you,” Zuko said, ignoring Aang’s question. “I’m afraid the beach house isn’t prepared for company, but I can see that you get the best accommodations the Island has to-”

“I don’t care!” Aang snapped. “Where’s Katara?” Zuko raised his arms and gestured around at the empty beach. 

“As you can see, there’s no one around but us,” he said. “Katara had set herself up in the village, but I was told she left weeks ago.” Even in the dim light of the crescent moon, Zuko could see Aang’s cheeks flush bright red. 

“Why are you hiding her from me?” Aang shouted. “I just want to talk to her!” 

“I am  _ not _ hiding her,” Zuko insisted. “I stopped here on my way home because I needed to speak to the contractor about some last-minute ideas my uncle had for the grounds.” Zuko hoped desperately that Aang was too distracted to think of checking his assertions. He stood tall, trying to project confidence, and straightened out his robes before he headed back up towards the summer palace. He glanced back over his shoulder as he went, “If you can’t find her, it’s because she doesn’t  _ want  _ to be found.” 

That might have been a step too far, Zuko reflected as a sudden strong breeze blew at his back and Aang landed in front of him with an accusatory glare. He held up his glider staff in a move that would have been threatening from anyone else. Coming from Aang, it was merely annoying. Zuko started to brush past him, but Aang laid his staff across Zuko’s chest and turned to him sternly. It was all Zuko could do not to roll his eyes. At least until the ground shook beneath his feet, and the wind picked up. Zuko was suddenly aware that the ocean behind him sounded louder than it had a few moments ago. That was when he remembered that he was dealing with the Avatar, and for all Zuko had mastered firebending, he knew he would be no match if Aang slipped into the Avatar state. 

“Where is she?” Aang’s voice was low and dangerous. The Avatar’s aversion to killing was well known, but at that moment, Zuko wondered how strong that conviction really was. 

“I don’t know,” Zuko replied truthfully. The ocean was vast, and there was no way to track one lone camel seal in it. Fortunately, Aang seemed to believe him. The younger boy sighed and lowered his staff. 

  
“I’m sorry,” he said quietly. “It’s just that...I’m so worried about her. She’s been on her own all this time. Did you  _ see _ how she was living here on Ember Island? She deserves so much better than that, and I can  _ give  _ her so much more than…” Aang sighed and shook his head. For an uncomfortable moment, Zuko was worried that Aang would cry. He cleared his throat uncomfortably. 

“Well,” he said. “I...I should get back to my ship.” Zuko fought the urge to duck his head and make a quick escape. 

“Prince Zuko,” Aang called as he passed. Zuko froze midstep, his back rod straight. He looked back and found Aang smiling amiably. “I’ll be dropping by Caldera in a couple of days. Maybe we’ll get there at the same time.”

Zuko nodded once, trying to keep his annoyance from showing. Aang still believed Zuko knew where Katara was, that was obvious. As Zuko walked away, he tried to calm his breath. After all, as long as Aang didn’t know about the sealskin, there was little danger of him catching up with Katara before she had a chance to escape. Still, he would have to be careful.


	4.     Part 4: The Avatar, the Prince, and the Waterbending Master

Aang was waiting when Zuko’s ship docked. The prince found himself surprised, though he knew he shouldn’t be. The two young men greeted each other politely if stiffly. Zuko could see Aang’s wide grey eyes sweeping over the disembarking crew, honing in on the boxes and trunks coming off with them. Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes. The Avatar may have been many things, but subtle was not one of them. 

“Is that everyone?” Aang asked. Zuko nodded, keeping his face carefully blank.

“It’s not a very big ship,” he said. “I didn’t need a big crew. My uncle sent a carriage. Would you like to ride back with me? I can have someone take care of your bison for you.” Aang shook his head. 

“No, no, I’m alright,” he smiled brightly at Zuko. “I’ll take Appa to the palace myself.” 

Zuko begged his leave as soon as his guards arrived. Aang lept back onto Appa’s saddle and took off. Down in the water, Zuko saw the head of a seal poking out of the water. Her eyes were turned towards the sky at first, but then she glanced at Zuko. He motioned at her to wait. 

“Are you ready to go, Your Highness?” The head guard greeted the prince. 

“We’ll leave in a moment,” he said. “I just need to...to check something on the dock.” The guard’s eyes widened in surprise.

“Your Highness?” she stammered. “I-I believe the Fire Lord wanted to see you as soon as-”

“Of course,” Zuko said over his shoulder as he hurried down to the dock. “I won’t be two minutes.”

Katara poked her head above the water when Zuko approached. He made a show of examining the side of his ship, leaning forward as far as he could without falling into the water. 

“Swim north about ten miles,” Zuko told her. “There’s a cove there. I’ll meet you tonight, and we can figure out what to do then.” Katara nodded once and swam away. Zuko followed the dark outline of her body until it blended with the sparkling seawater. The guards were watching Zuko oddly when he returned to them, but he didn’t acknowledge their questioning looks as he climbed into the waiting carriage.

The Avatar’s arrival had caused a small commotion at the palace. Iroh paused in his duties just long enough to greet his nephew before he was swept up in the rushed preparations of Aang’s rooms -in the royal wing of course- so Zuko didn’t have an opportunity to speak with his uncle immediately. He’d hoped he could catch the Fire Lord before dinner, but unfortunately, seeing that there were vegetarian options for all meals that week took longer than anticipated. Zuko saw neither his uncle nor the Avatar until dinner that evening. 

“I’m sure there is an interesting story behind why you stopped on Ember Island before returning home,” Fire Lord Iroh said as the meal was served. “You wouldn’t have kept your loving uncle waiting after your harrowing shipwreck without a good reason.” Zuko glanced up, aware of Aang’s eyes on him, and cleared his throat.

“We were having issues with the rudder,” he lied. “Nothing major, but Captain Jee wanted to stop and check.”

“I thought you had to speak to the contractor,” Aang jumped in. Zuko did his best to keep from reacting. 

“It was both,” he said calmly. “We stopped because of the rudder, and I decided to speak to the contractor while I was there.” He would find a moment to pull his uncle aside later, Zuko thought. He could explain about Katara and the need for secrecy. He just had to get through-

“Interesting,” Iroh said, taking a sip of his tea. “Captain Jee debriefed me on the trip. He didn’t mention trouble with the rudder. Only that you seemed very keen to stop by the island.” Zuko’s face turned bright red. Iroh and Aang were staring at him with different degrees of intensity, but with great interest. 

“So you stopped on your way home just to speak to the contractor?” Aang asked, leaning forward on his elbows. “Seems like a lot of trouble for something that probably could have been a letter, right?” 

“It...it was a bit more complicated than that,” Zuko stammered, trying to get his story back on track. “You see, I had to...to…” Iroh cut off his explanation with a burst of jovial laughter.

“I completely understand,” he said. He turned and winked conspiratorially at Aang. “It seems my nephew has a young lady friend.” Aang’s cheeks went splotchy red. 

“It’s not like that!” Zuko yelped. Then he remembered that he had kissed Katara, and his conscience prickled.

“Who were you meeting?” Aang asked. It came out sounding rather more like a demand than perhaps the Avatar intended. When Iroh turned his questioning gaze on him, Aang had the grace to look embarrassed. “I mean...she must be something. You know, to make you worry your uncle like that.” 

“There is no she.” Zuko stopped short of outright glaring at Aang, but the tension was too obvious to miss. And Iroh did not miss it. He shot his nephew a look, which Zuko did not miss. Then Zuko shot Iroh a look in response that promised an explanation later. This Aang missed. 

“Well,” Iroh cleared his throat. “I suppose I could be wrong. It would be my greatest joy to see you settled down and happy with an heir or two running around. But I shouldn’t allow my impatience to run away with me. I’m sure Captain Jee simply...forgot to tell me about the rudder. After all, if it was just a minor issue…”

“But what about-” Aang started. Iroh turned to him with a bright smile.

“Avatar Aang, how have your travels been?” 

.*.*.*.*.*.*.

It was sometime between late night and very early morning before Zuko chanced stealing to his uncle’s rooms. He was certain Aang must have been asleep by then. Of course, he was equally certain that his uncle would be asleep, too, but Iroh would forgive his nephew when he heard Katara’s story. So Zuko slipped silently through the halls of the palace, making a note to discuss the unnerving laxness of the guards with his uncle at some later time. For tonight, he was just happy he was able to make it into Iroh’s chambers without being spotted. Zuko knew Katara would be wondering what was keeping him, and he didn’t want to keep her waiting much longer. 

Iroh was not asleep. He was seated at the low tea table in his parlor when Zuko slipped in quietly. An empty teacup had been placed across from him as if he had been expecting company. 

“I was wondering how long you would keep me in suspense,” Iroh greeted his nephew. Zuko slid into the seat across from his uncle, not bothering with pleasantries. Iroh poured tea into Zuko’s cup. It was dark and on tasting it, Zuko realized it was a morning blend meant to energize. Iroh always seemed to know just what tea to make.

“I would have been here sooner,” Zuko explained, ‘but I wanted to make sure we’d be alone.”

“I see,” Iroh took a sip from his cup. “So what is this big secret you don’t want the Avatar to know?” 

“I met a girl on Ember Island,” Zuko confessed. Iroh’s face lit up with a bright smile.

“So I was right!” he cheered. “But what does young Avatar Aang have to do with anything.” 

“It’s not what you think.” Zuko sighed and paced the floor a bit. “She’s not my...my girlfriend or anything. She’s in trouble, and I thought you might be able to help.” 

“Is it serious?” Concern clouded the Fire Lord’s face. 

“I’m afraid you won’t believe me,” Zuko confessed. Iroh raised his eyebrow, intrigued. 

“That is quite a preamble,” he said. “I hope you’ll find me more open-minded than you expect.” He motioned for his nephew to continue. After taking a deep breath, Zuko did continue. 

He told Iroh an abbreviated version of the story, passing briefly over meeting Katara on Ember Island and giving her access to the private beach, and finding out that she had run away from a marriage to Aang.

“She hasn’t been able to go home in two years, Uncle,” Zuko shook his head sadly. He understood what it was like to be cut off from his home, and he knew Iroh would, too. 

“That is unfortunate,” Iroh said after a long, ponderous silence. “I don’t understand what you thought I would find so unbelievable.” Zuko glanced away nervously. 

“She..she saved my life,” Zuko told his uncle. “It was during the storm. I fell overboard and she...got me to shore.” Iroh’s brows drew downward in confusion. 

“I don’t understand,” he said. “Had she stowed away on the ship?” Zuko shook his head mutely. Iroh stroked his beard thoughtfully, sensing more to the story, but he didn’t press.

“Well,” he murmured after some consideration. “I had heard that Chief Hakoda’s daughter was a waterbender. It stands to reason that in her travels she would find herself a master to teach her.” Zuko nodded his head. 

“She’s mastered a few different styles of waterbending,” he confirmed. 

“Well,’ he said at last. “Well, that is quite a tale. I had wondered why Chief Hakoda had stopped mentioning his daughter in our letters. I had heard rumors that there was something between her and the Avatar, but this…”

“She’s been through a lot,” Zuko murmured.

“How can I help her?” Iroh asked. “I’d be happy to assist in any way I can, but I don’t know what I can do beyond offering to send her home with guards.”

“The Avatar insists that she has to marry him or he won’t be able to control the Avatar State,” Zuko explained. “But she doesn’t want to marry him, and she shouldn’t have to just because he doesn’t know how to control his temper tantrums. But Aang swears that they're destiny. You are the wisest man I know with this spirit world, Avatar stuff. If anyone can help Katara sort this out, it’s you.” Iroh sighed, and finished his tea. 

“I have never heard of an Avatar needing someone to help them control the Avatar State,” he admitted. “And even if that were true, it seems that the Avatar should find someone willing to take on such an important role.” 

“Can you help her?” Zuko asked, leaning forward eagerly. 

“You are thinking this is a spiritual problem,” Iroh sighed, shaking his head. “I’m afraid this isn’t that simple. But I will try my best. When can I meet the young lady?” Zuko’s face flushed slightly and he cleared his throat.

“Is now a good time?” 

“She’s here?” Iroh blinked in surprise and glanced towards the door. 

“Well, she’s in Caldera,” Zuko told him. “I’m supposed to meet her at Mizuno Cove. I told her I’d be there tonight.” 

“What?” Iroh gasped. He shot his nephew a disappointed frown. “You left her waiting there alone? In this weather?” Zuko fought the urge to roll his eyes. Katara survived a storm and saved his whole crew. He was sure she could handle a few hours on a private beach on a late spring night. Still, it got Iroh to move with urgency. 

Though he wasn’t as spry as he had once been, Iroh managed to keep up with his nephew as they snuck through the servants’ passageways and out of the palace. They took two ostrich horses from the stables and set off towards the cove as quickly as possible.

It was slightly later than Zuko had intended to meet Katara, but there was no sign of her when he and Iroh arrived at the small, private cove. There weren’t many places on the sand where she could be hiding, but rocky formations poked out of the choppy water. Zuko stood at the edge and peered into the dark. 

“Katara?” he called. “Katara, are you here?” 

“What are you doing?” Iroh asked, coming down to the shore behind his nephew. A dark shape detached from the rocks and pushed itself out of the water. Iroh startled back in surprise at the camel seal. 

“Nephew, be careful-” he started to warn, but Zuko approached the animal with no sign of fear. 

“It’s okay,” he said. Iroh thought Zuko was talking to him, but then Zuko walked up to the seal holding his hand out. “It’s just me and Uncle. You’re safe here.”

  
“Prince Zuko, what are you-?” Iroh’s question was cut short when the seal rose up on its hind flippers and its skin rippled. Iroh watched for a moment, confused at what he was seeing. Then Zuko got closer to the seal.

“I’m sorry I’m late,” Zuko said. “I-”

“Zuko!” Iroh cried in alarm, yanking his nephew back by his collar. Zuko squawked as he stumbled backward.

“Uncle!”

“ _Dear spirits_!” Iroh gasped. “What in the-” Katara waded out of the water with the seal skin robe draped around her shoulders.

“Zuko!” she scolded. “Why didn’t you warn him?”

“I wanted to give you an out,” Zuko told her sheepishly. In the light of the half-moon, Iroh saw Zuko’s hand graze Katara’s. And he also saw Katara’s face soften at his nephew’s explanation. He made a note to ask Zuko about that later. Not his girlfriend, _indeed_. Gathering himself quickly, Iroh stepped forward with his characteristically serene smile.

“You must be Katara, daughter of Chief Hakoda,” he greeted her warmly with a bow. “Or rather, I understand that it's _Master_ Katara now. I’m sorry that these are the circumstances that allowed our being acquainted.” 

“I am.” Katara bobbed a quick, informal bow, which revealed how little court training she had received. Even in the Northern Tribe her manners wouldn’t pass muster, but neither Zuko nor Iroh minded much. She shifted on her feet uncomfortably. “I-I’m sorry to interrupt your evening like this, but Zuko thinks you can help me with a problem. You see, I-”

“My nephew has told me all about it,” Iroh assured her, sparing her the necessity of explaining. He beckoned the young woman out of the water, eyeing the seal skin she clutched tightly around herself, and he amended, “Well, not _all_ , clearly, but I understand the gist of the problem.”

“Can you help?” Katara asked. She clasped her hands together in supplication. “Can you convince Aang to move on?” 

“I’m afraid I don’t have the power to change anyone’s mind.” Iroh shook his head sadly. “But I know a bit of spiritual lore, and I am not aware of any Avatar needing a companion to help them control the Avatar State. Perhaps we can begin with that problem.” 

“Great,” Katara huffed, throwing her hands to her sides. “So, once again, it’s up to literally anyone but Aang to take initiative about his life. Tell you what. Why don’t you solve that problem while I continue trying to ditch him long enough to go see my family?” Iroh and Zuko drew back in surprise. Katara sighed and pressed her thumb into the corner of her eye. 

“That was uncalled for,” she apologized. “I’m just…It’s been a long two years.” 

“I can imagine it’s been a difficult time for you,” Iroh took her hand and patted it sympathetically. “I’m not offended. Of course it would be best if the young Avatar were to take it on himself to figure this all out on his own, but if intervening will allow you to be free sooner, I think it’s worth it.” 

The words had barely left Iroh’s lips before everything when wrong all at once. A shadow passed across the cove, too perfectly person shaped to be a cloud. Katara gasped and dove under the waves as the wind picked up suddenly and powerfully. Aang landed on the sand, sending a shock wave of the rough grains in every direction, and he stood with an ominous snap of his glider. 

“ _Where is she!_ ” he shouted at Zuko angrily. 

“Calm down!” Zuko snapped. “You’re making an idiot of yourself.” Aang flushed bright red at that, and drew up to his full height. He stalked towards Zuko with his staff raised like a weapon. 

“I know you’re hiding her!” he said. “I heard you talking to your uncle!” 

“I’m not hiding her,” Zuko said, glaring at Aang defiantly. “Katara is a grown woman. If she wants to speak to you, she’ll let you know.” 

“She’s confused!” Aang insisted. “If I could just talk to her-”

“She doesn’t seem confused to me.” Zuko was quickly getting fed up with the Avatar. He marveled at Katara’s patience with him. “It seems to me the only one confused here is you. Let me help you out. When a woman says she doesn’t want you, you should do her the courtesy of believing her!” Iroh placed a hand on his nephew’s shoulder. 

“Prince Zuko, perhaps this isn’t the best-” he tried to warn the young man. 

“This has to stop, Uncle!” Zuko shook himself free. He turned his anger back to Aang. “Do you have any idea what you’ve put her through? You selfish little-”

“Enough!” Aang’s voice echoed oddly. It was as if there were more than one of him speaking at once. His eyes and tattoos began to glow, and the wind swirled around the cove, picking up the sand in a whirlwind and driving Zuko and Iroh into the shallow water. 

“He’s going into the Avatar State,” Iroh shouted in alarm. “We must get away!”

Suddenly, a dark shape emerged from the water, and a camel seal let out a loud bark. The skin was thrown back, revealing Katara. Aang dropped his arms, his mouth agape in shock as Katara rushed to jump between them.

“Stop it, Aang!” She held her arms out to her sides, blocking Aang from Zuko and Iroh. 

“Katara?” Aang gasped. His hold on the elements broke and the light faded from his eyes and skin. “How did you-? Where did you-?” He shook his head in disbelief. 

“Leave them alone!” Katara ignored Aang’s confusion. “Why are you attacking them?” Aang's face flushed, and Katara hoped for a moment it was shame, but then his brow drew down angrily and his mouth twisted into a scowl. 

“He’s been hiding you from me!” Aang pointed at Zuko with an accusatory hiss. 

“He wasn’t hiding me!” Katara’s jaw clenched tightly. Two years of frustration and anger lodged in her throat and made it hard to breathe. “I was trying to get away from you. I’ve been trying to get away from you for two years! Why won’t you leave me alone?” The waves were beginning to crash violently against the shore in response to Katara’s agitation. Aang stumbled away from her in shock.

“Katara,” he gasped. “I...I need you.” 

“I don’t want you, Aang!” Katara’s voice was firm, but she was shaking so hard, Iroh was afraid she’d fall. Aang threw his staff down and held his hands out in supplication. 

“I can give you everything you’ve ever wanted,” he promised. “You wouldn’t want for anything.”

“I want to be free!” Katara growled. “I want to go home! I don’t want you! ”

“Katara, please, just give me-” 

“If I marry you- if you force me into this- I’ll be miserable!” Katara threw her hands out to her sides. “You’re already making me miserable!”

“But...I love you!” Aang stumbled towards her, his hand clasped together over his heart. Zuko stepped forward, ready to step between them, but Katara held her hand up. This was her battle.

“You _love_ me?” Katara laughed bitterly. “This isn’t love, Aang! If you loved me, you would have listened to me when I said I didn’t want to marry you. You wouldn’t have chased me out of my home...away from my family. You don’t love me! You want to possess me!” 

Aang’s face crumpled, and for a moment, it was as if Katara were looking at the little boy she had found on the ice all those years ago. He looked so lost just then. It broke Katara’s heart to see him like this, but two years of running had given her granite resolve. 

“We were friends once,” she said softly. “I wanted you to be happy.”

“I can’t be happy,” Aang insisted. “Not without you.”

“You can’t do that, Aang.” Katara shook her head. “You can’t make me responsible for your happiness. It isn’t fair.”

  
Aang let his hands fall to his sides. He stared at Katara as if seeing her for the first time. And perhaps, Katara thought, he was. He took one step back. Then another. Katara dared to hope that he was listening at last. His eyes roamed from her eyes, to her hands, balled tightly into the front of her robe. He seemed lost.

“That’s…” Aang said at last. His eyes had returned to the seal skin robe Katara wore. “That’s the seal I killed for you…” Aang frowned. “You had me kill it, but… you never...you were never going to marry me.”

“I’m sorry, Aang,” Katara whispered. 

“I killed it for you, Katara!” Aang’s eyes filled with tears. “I took a life for you. And you were just...what? Leading me on?” 

“You wouldn’t let me go!” Katara shouted. “I told you no! I told you I didn’t want to marry and you still pressed. I’m sorry you had to kill the seal, but if you I had just listened to me-”

  
“Why do you still have it?” Aang pressed. He stumbled towards Katara, his feet slipping in the sand. 

“I needed it.” Katara’s body went rigid in her attempt to keep from bolting. She needed to do this. If Aang’s pursuit was ever going to end, she couldn’t run again. Behind her, she could sense Iroh and Zuko tensing up, too. If Aang went into the Avatar State, she would keep them safe somehow. 

“People keep gifts from people they love!” Aang insisted grasping at the sleeve of her robe. “Don’t you see, Katara? You kept this because you love me, too!” Katara shook her head and tried to pull away, but Aang held on desperately. 

“Let me go, Aang!”

“Why can’t you admit that you kept it because it means something to you? Because I mean something to you!” His grip on Katara’s sleeve tightened. 

“She said let her go!” Zuko stepped forward and grabbed Aang’s arm. The young Avatar rounded on Zuko, eyes flashing dangerously, and shoved the prince away.   
“This doesn’t concern you,” he hissed. Katara put herself between the two again, motioning for Zuko to step back. 

“Leave him alone!” Katara’s heart was pounding. The rush of her blood matched the turbulent waves behind her. “I kept the skin because I needed it, Aang. It was a gift from the Moon Spirit.”

“What?” Aang shook his head, in confusion. “The Moon Spirit?”

“She helped me get away from you,” Katara told him. 

“Katara, you’re not making any sense!” Aang’s brow drew down. “Why would the Moon Spirit help you?” Katara gritted her teeth. A rush of angry heat flooded her cheeks. After all this time, he still refused to hear her!

“She helped me because she saw how much I wanted to get away from you. This seal skin is how I’ve been able to stay away from you. But I don’t want to run anymore, Aang.”

“Then stop!” Aang grasped at the sleeve of the robe again. “Stop running! Give me the robe.” Katara pulled away, trying to shake Aang’s hold. 

“No!” she said. 

“Don’t you see?” Aang’s grip tightened. “This...this isn’t you! You don’t understand how dangerous it is to mess with stuff from the spirit world! If this was the Moon Spirit, then she’s clouding your mind! Just take it off, and you’ll see.” Aang reached up with his other hand and started tugging at the collar of the robe.

“Aang, stop!” Katara freed her arm and pushed Aang away, but his hold was too tight. He stumbled back from the force of the shove, and the collar came with him. With a loud rip, the skin was rent. The front of it dangled uselessly, the sleeve halfway off of her arm. 

“What have you done?” she gasped. Aang righted himself, his eyes widened in alarm for a moment before he schooled his face into a mask of calm. 

“It’s for the best,” he said. “I shouldn’t have killed that seal in the first place. If it has spirit power, then it’s dark spirit power. The best thing to do now is to burn it and clear whatever’s corrupting your mind.” Katara stared at the torn panel in shock. 

“Katara?” Zuko reached out to put a hand on her shoulder, but he was nearly swept off of his feet by a strong blast of wind. 

“Don’t touch her!” Aang held his glider in front of him threateningly. “She’s my-” He never got to finish laying whatever claim on Katara he was making. A wave slammed him from the side, knocking him into the sand and washing his glider away. He scrambled to his knees, coughing and sputtering, but before he could regain his footing, another wave swept him up and froze, trapping him up to his neck in seawater. He stared in shock, glaring at Zuko and Iroh first in his dazed confusion. But then he looked down and saw the ice. His wounded eyes looked around and found Katara. 

“What…?” Aang whispered. 

“I am not your anything!” she hissed. Her face was hardened and fierce. The light of the moon cast shadows at sharp angles, making Katara look as if she had been carved from stone. Aang hadn’t expected the power in her bending. She had been untrained the last time they saw each other. But two years was a long time, and Katara had found willing teachers. 

“Katara!” Aang cried, struggling against his frozen bonds.

“This ends now.” Katara forced the words out through clenched teeth. 

“Please, Katara,” Aang’s voice fell to a soft pleading. Had they been free, his hands would have been clasped together in supplication over his heart. “You don’t know what you’re doing.” Katara’s eyes narrowed dangerously.

“I know exactly what I’m doing.” Katara brought up another wave, adding to the ice tower trapping Aang and blocking his view. Katara grabbed her torn seal skin and motioned for Iroh and Zuko to run.

“That won’t hold him for long,” she told them. “We have to go now.” The two men hesitated, but only for a moment. Already there was a glow from within the ice tower. Aang was entering the Avatar State. Katara’s eyes widened in fright and she shoved Zuko and his uncle towards the hidden passage. 

_**BOOM** _

Aang’s ice prison shattered too suddenly to do anything except throw up a shield of water. The Avatar rose into the sky, calling up the four elements to surround him in a whirling mass. Katara stared up at him with grim determination. She spared just a moment to call up a strong fairly strong wave to push Iroh and Zuko towards the tunnel. Iroh needed no further prompting. He tried to push Zuko ahead of him to safety.

“We can’t leave her,” Zuko protested above the roaring wind and crashing waves. Iroh glanced back and realized with surprise that Katara was still watching Aang with grim determination.

“Master Katara!” he shouted. “We must leave now!” 

“No!” Katara’s face was hardened as she drew more water to her. “If I keep running, he’ll never stop. I’d rather die than let him keep me from my home!” With that, Katara attacked.

Iroh watched the first wave crash over Aang with a helpless sort of hesitance before he resumed trying to usher his nephew away. Zuko spun out of his grasp and rushed back onto the beach. He had meant it when he promised Katara she wouldn’t have to face Aang alone. 

Katara was doing well at first. She was a master waterbender going up against an Avatar not yet fully realized. Zuko found he had nothing to do except to cover Katara for debris she hadn’t noticed. It seemed that even in the Avatar State, Aang wasn’t much of a fighter. He blocked attacks from Katara, and occasionally, a heavy rock would escape his control and shatter on the cliff face, or he would try to wrest a wave from Katara’s control, but mostly he just blocked her attacks. 

“ _I don’t want to hurt you_ ,” Aang said, speaking with several voices at once. The sound of it was jarring. Zuko had to resist the urge to cover his ears, and from the corner of his eye, he saw Katara wince. “ _I don’t want to hurt anyone. You can stop this, Katara. Just agree to marry me, and **help me**_!” 

Katara wavered. She glanced over at Zuko, and saw the war happening in her eyes, and he wished he could tell her he understood. He understood the insistent hand of duty pulling at her, and if she had chosen to give in to Aang’s demands, he wouldn’t blame her. He wished he could tell her that he would understand if she chose to refuse Aang, even though it would likely mean her death and Zuko’s along with her. She shut her eyes and took a deep breath. When she opened them again, her eyes were steely with new resolve. 

“I’m done playing this game with you,” she shouted at Aang. “My answer is no!” 

Aang’s face contorted in surprise, and then fell into a scowl. The glowing of his eyes and tattoos intensified. 

“ _Then this is your fault_!” The voices echoed off of the cliff walls, followed by a rumbling in the stone. Zuko glanced towards the tunnel nervously. He couldn’t tell if his uncle was still there, but Zuko hoped that the Fire Lord had made it to safety. 

The world seemed to explode around Katara and Zuko. Aang had been holding back before. He wasn’t on Katara’s level when it came to fighting, but in the Avatar State, he had the advantage of sheer force. Even with Zuko’s help, the tide of the battle was swiftly turning in Aang’s favor, and the pair found themselves on the defensive. All of Katara’s effort was now on keeping the seawater from overwhelming them, and Zuko was doing his best to blast earthen attacks away from them.

“We’re going to have to retreat,” Zuko cried out to Katara. She didn’t respond. She let out an enraged cry and launched a blunted cylinder of ice at Aang. The boy caught it and threw it against the rock wall before trying once again to sweep Katara and Zuko into the water. Katara withstood the force of the water, but Zuko was knocked off of his feet and dragged, head over heels towards the open water. At the last moment, he was caught and hauled back towards the shore. He coughed up the briny water from his lungs and climbed to his hands and knees. Large hands caught his shoulders and pulled him to his feet. Iroh’s face was pale with fright and worry. 

“We have to get out of here,” he said. “The Avatar is too strong.”

“We...we can’t leave-” Zuko panted, and motioned to Katara- still holding off Aang’s attacks- when his breath failed him. Iroh nodded his head grimly. He pushed his nephew behind him and shouted over the din. 

“Master Katara, make ready to run!” Without waiting to see if he’d been heard, Iroh took a deep breath and breathed out an impressive ball of fire. It was sudden enough to startle the light from Aang’s eyes. He blinked dazedly as he used his airbending to descend gently to the ruined beach. 

“Did...did I do this?” he asked. His eyes landed on Katara and he stumbled forward, beseechingly. “Please, Katara! Don’t you see? I need you-”

“We need to go!” Iroh had come up to Katara and caught hold of her arm. He hurried to get her and Zuko in to the tunnel, but they had only made it a few steps before the wind picked up again. 

“ _You can’t take her from me!”_ Aang was shouting in many voices again. The three turned in horror as Aang’s eyes began to glow again. 

“Go without me!” Katara pushed Iroh and Zuko towards the opening.

“Katara, no-” Zuko struggled against her. 

“He only wants me,” Katara was insistent and she pushed them again. 

“ _Do as she says!”_ Aang commanded. Katara turned back to him with a snarl. She had already called up another wall of water when suddenly the cove exploded in a burst of bright silvery light. For a moment, they thought that Aang had done it, but when the light faded, there was a new figure standing in the midst of the destruction. 

“Yue!” Katara gasped. The moon spirit, however, had her cold gaze settled firmly on Aang, who was once more startled out of the Avatar State. 

“Is this what you choose to do with the blessing of the spirits?” Yue demanded. Aang had at least the grace to look ashamed of himself, but he still spoke in his own defense.

“I didn’t want to,” he insisted. “But it’s too much for me alone. I need Katara to help me control it, and she keeps telling me no!”

“Why do you think it’s her duty to help you control yourself?” Yue’s eyes narrowed angrily, daring Aang to throw another tantrum. “Every Avatar must master each element, and must also learn to master themselves. You have chosen to do neither!”

“I have-” Aang started to protest. 

“You have mastered neither firebending nor earthbending.” Yue’s voice was low and calm, but her words had the same effect as if she had shouted. Katara looked from the spirit to her ex-friend in confusion. 

“You...you told me you had mastered earthbending,” she said. 

“I technically have,” Aang told her, managing to look sheepish despite the severity of the moment. “I-I mean, I’ve mastered the basics-”

“You must master all four element in their entirety,” Yue said. “If you don’t, you will never master the Avatar State. It is not Katara’s responsibility to control it for you. It is no one’s responsibility but your own.” Aang’s face crumpled, and it was clear that he was moments away from tears. 

“It’s-it’s so hard,” his voice wavered, and he sank to his knees. No one made a move to comfort him. “I’m expected to do too much by myself, and no one understands the burden-” For a few moments, Aang’s sobs mixed with the gentle lapping of the waves to break the silence. 

“I would have helped you,’ Katara told him. “If you had let my friendship be enough, I would have helped you. I’m the last waterbender in my tribe. I would have understood. If you hadn’t demanded more from me, I would have helped you.” 

“You are not alone because you are the last of your people,” Yue explained to Aang sympathetically. “You can have friends. You can have love. But you can’t take it by force or demand it in exchange for your duty.” Aang’s head hung low in shame.

“What do I do?” he asked softly. Brokenly. Yue went over to him and placed a hand gently on his shoulder. 

“Master the elements to master yourself,” she said. “You cannot move forward until you learn those lessons.”

“I’ll help you find a firebending master,” Iroh offered stepping forward. Aang looked up at the older man in surprise. Iroh met him with a kind, fatherly smile. 

“I am sorry that such a heavy burden is yours to bear so young,” he said kindly. “I would like to help as much as I can.” Hope danced across Aang’s face before he lowered his gaze again. 

“I have to master earthbending first,” he admitted. “But…”

“Go to Gaoling,” Yue told him. “You’ll find your master there.” Aang nodded mutely. He turned his gaze back to Katara, and it was as if he were seeing her for the first time. His eyes filled with tears again. 

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I...I’ll go. I won’t bother you anymore.” He waited a beat, and Katara wondered if he were waiting for her to offer some words of comfort or forgiveness. She had none to give.

“Good luck,” was all she managed to get out before she looked away from him. Aang flinches as if he’d been struck, but he nodded in acceptance. 

“I’ll...I’ll grab Appa and we’ll leave tonight,” he said. 

“Come back when you’ve mastered earthbending,” Iroh replied. “I’ll have someone to train you.” Aang forced a smile and snapped his glider open.

“Thank you,” he said meekly. Then, with one final, fruitless glance at Katara, Aang took to the sky. They all watched him go, and when Katara and the two nobles looked down, Yue was gone.   
“She does that,” Katara explained when she saw the confusion on Zuko and Iroh’s faces. Her eyes scanned the beach and landed on her sealskin clinging to the rocks a few yards away. It was battered and had new tears in it, but it was a miracle that it hadn’t been swept to sea in the fight. Katara picked it up and ran her fingers over it. Then, impulsively, she pulled it on as best she could and let the sea water lap at the edge, as she had that first day. Nothing happened. Katara took a shaky breath and waded out a bit further into the water, but still she remained in human form. She bit back a sob. 

“It doesn’t work anymore,” she said mostly to herself. Iroh cleared his throat and motioned to Zuko to guide her away from the water. 

“It’s alright,” Zuko murmured, leading her towards the tunnel. “We can get you home.” He glanced up at his uncle. The Fire Lord nodded. 

“I’ll prepare a ship,” he promised. “And you can send word to your father. I’m sure he’ll be delighted to hear you’ll be home soon.” 

Iroh began preparations first thing the next morning. He requested his fastest, most luxurious vessel be made ready at once. But even with the Fire Lord ordering speed, it would be nearly a week before the ship would be ready to sail. 

There was nothing else for Katara to do once she’d written to her family (a brief I’m coming home), and she had asked that Zuko and Iroh not make her stay a matter of state. So, Katara spent most of that time in a room in the royal wing- Aang’s room to be exact, but Iroh and Zuko thought it would be wiser not to tell her that information- or in the gardens. She’d somehow lost track of her sealskin in the intervening time, but it no longer mattered. Zuko wase scarce during this time. Katara didn’t expect that to bother her as much as it did. After all, he was the Crown Prince, and must have been very busy. Still, the days might have passed a bit lighter if she had company. 

Katara was preparing for bed on her second to last night in the Fire Nation when she was interrupted by a timid knock on her door. Zuko stood on the other side, his hands behind his back, and a sheepish smile on his face. 

“I’m sorry I haven’t been around,” he said. 

“Don’t worry about it,” Katara waved him off. “I’ve been fine.” 

“You must be excited to be going home again.” 

“I am,” Katara sighed. And she truly was, but… “Can I confess something?”   
“Of course!” Zuko nodded eagerly. 

“I’m going to miss the freedom,” she said with a slight smile. “Not of being on the run, but...that seal skin gave me freedom I never dreamed of. I’m grateful to you and your uncle for letting me borrow a ship, of course. But I’m going to miss being able to just go to the water and swim away whenever I want.” 

“Oh…” Zuko shifted nervously on his feet, and Katara realized for the first time that his hands were still behind his back. Zuko brought them out to reveal a package wrapped in red silk. “I...I got you something. Sort of. I know it’s a little early for a going away present, but I…” Katara accepted it with a grateful smile and untied the ribbon keeping it closed. Inside was her sealskin, painstakingly and crudely sewn together.

“You…?” Katara looked up to Zuko questioningly. “You had this?”

“I’m sorry,” Zuko said. “I know I should have asked, but I wanted to surprise you.” Katara held the robe up, letting the silk it had been wrapped in fall to the floor. 

“You did this?” 

“I’m not sure it’ll still work,” Zuko admitted. “I...I’m not very good at sewing.” Katara ran her fingers along the uneven stitches holding the two sides of the seal robe together, and she wanted to cry. Whether it was sadness or that she was touched by the effort, she couldn’t have said. Maybe it was both.

“Zuko, it’s…” Katara’s voice caught, and with a strangled sob, she threw her arms around Zuko’s middle and held him tight. “This is the sweetest thing anyone’s ever done for me.”

“Well…” Zuko chuckled nervously, returning the hug. “We should probably see if it works before you say that.” Katara pulled back just enough to meet Zuko’s eyes. 

“No,” she said firmly. “Even if it doesn’t work, this is still the sweetest thing.” Zuko’s face flushed bright red, and the flush deepened when Katara leaned up on her tip toe and kissed him. He wondered dazedly if she had anything else she needed sewn. 

They snuck out of the palace once the coast was clear, taking the same tunnel Zuko and his uncle had taken to the cove nearly a week earlier. Zuko nervously reminded her that his stitching might not have brought back the magic Yue had used on it, but Katara wanted to try anyway. Clouds covered the moon when they emerged onto the beach, and Zuko held up a flame so Katara could see what she was doing. She slipped the robe on and made her way to the water’s edge. She hesitated, just shy of the waves licking the sand, and then stepped in up to her ankles. Zuko hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath until Katara turned back to him, disappointment evident on her face. 

  
“I’m sorry,” Zuko said, lowering his head. 

“It’s not your fault,” Katara said. Zuko glanced up to find her smiling at him. She held her hand out, and he joined her in the shallow water. 

“I know you wanted your freedom,” he murmured. “I thought maybe-”

“I have my freedom.” Katara turned to face him. “I don’t have to run anymore, and that’s all I ever truly wanted. Thank you, Zuko. Thank you for everything.”

“I didn’t do anything, really.” Zuko felt his face heating up again. The clouds were moving from in front of the moon. It was full tonight, and Zuko was certain Katara would see how red his face was. 

The moonlight struck the cove, its rays scattering on the surface of the water like diamonds. Katara’s gasp was the only warning before there was suddenly a camel seal where she once stood. Zuko stumbled backward, nearly falling into the water. Katara pulled back the robe and took it off to inspect it. Zuko’s clumsy work now held together perfect seams and random patches of smooth leather. Katara let out a startled laugh before turning to the moon. 

“One last gift?” she asked the moon spirit. 

“It’s fixed!” Zuko stared at the robe in her hands with a wide grin. Katara spun back to him, slipping the robe back on. Zuko’s contributions stood out against the light grey material like a strange, random design. Katara ran her fingers down a jagged line near the end of a sleeve.

“I think I like it this way,” she told him. Zuko’s grin grew wider for a moment before it dimmed a bit. 

“I...I guess there’s no reason for you to stick around here,” he said. “I know you’re anxious to get home.” Katara seemed relieved at his understanding. Disappointment settled like a weight in Zuko’s stomach, but he did his best to hide it. It wouldn’t be fair to stop her from leaving after two years of being away from home. Zuko knew that pain all too well. 

“I hope you don’t mind,” Katara said. Zuko smiled and shook his head. 

“I’m happy for you, Katara.” He stumbled backward again when Katara launched herself into his arms, and kissed him, this time longer and deeper than before. 

“I’m so glad you wandered into my healing hut,” she said breathlessly when she pulled away. 

“Me, too.” Zuko rested his forehead against hers and tried to memorize the weight of her in his arms. Too soon, Katara slipped away and tugged the seal skin tight around herself.

“It would be a shame to waste your uncle’s lovely ship,” she said. “Maybe someone else could use it?” Zuko blinked in confusion, but a moment later, understanding dawned on his face. 

“I’ve never been to the Southern Water Tribe,” he said slowly. “I’m sure my uncle would agree it’s time I made a diplomatic visit.” Katara grinned happily at him. Zuko caught her hand before she covered her head with the hood, and pulled her in for one last kiss. He let her go and with one final glance back, she disappeared into the sea. Zuko lingered for just a few minutes more before he hurried back to the palace. He had a trip to prepare for. 


End file.
